BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

Gregg, William (1817 - 1909)

Ecclesiastical historian, was born at Killycreen, near Ramelton, county Donegal, Ireland, on July 5, 1817, the son of Daniel Gregg and Jane Graham. He was educated at Glasgow University (B.A., 1843) and at Edinburgh University (M.A. 1844). In 1846 he was licensed to preach in the Free Church of Scotland, and came to Canada as a missionary. From 1847 to 1857 he was minister of St. John's Presbyterian Church, Belleville; and from 1857 to 1872 of Cooke's Church, Toronto. In 1864 he was appointed lecturer in apologetics in Knox College, Toronto; and he remained on the staff of this college, first as professor of apologetics and later as professor of apologetics and church history, until his retirement in 1895. He died in Toronto on May 26, 1909. In 1849 he married Phoebe, eldest daughter of Dr. Rufus Holden, of Belleville; and by her he had several children. He was a D.D. of Hanover University (1878); and he was the author of a History of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (Toronto, 1885)

Taken from The Encyclopedia of Canada

Hamilton, Charles Frederick (1869 - 1933)

Journalist and author, was born at Roslin, Ontario, on December 7, 1869, the son of Charles Samuel Hamilton, M.D., C.M., and Alice, daughter of G. E. Jacques, of Montreal. He was educated at Queen's University (M.A., 1890), and in 1891 became a journalist. He served successively on the Toronto World, Star, Globe, and News; and in 1899 - 1900 he acted as war correspondent of the Toronto Globe in South Africa. During the later years of his life he was on the staff of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He died at Ottawa on December 4, 1933. He collaborated with W. L. Grant, in The Life of Principal Grant (Toronto, 1904); and he contributed accounts of the military history of Canada to A. Shortt and A.G. Doughty (eds.), Canada and its Provinces (23 vols., Toronto, 1913), and to the Canadian Defence Quarterly, 1928.

Taken from The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. III, p. 105-6

Haskins, James, (1805 - 1845)

Poet, was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1805. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin (A.B., 1824, M.B., 1833), and emigrated to Canada in 1834. He practised medicine in Belleville, Canada West, and its neighbourhood; and he died at the village of Frankford, in the Trent Valley, in the autumn of 1845. His Poetical Works were published posthumously by his friend Henry Baldwin (Hartford, 1848), with a memoir.

Taken from The Encyclopedia of Canada

Henry, Walter, (1791 - 1860)

Army surgeon and author, was born at Donegal, Ireland, on January 1, 1791. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and studied surgery in London, England. In 1811 he entered the British Army as a hospital assistant; and he saw service in the Peninsular war, the Nepaulese war of 1816-7, and the Canadian Rebellions of 1837 and 1838. He was stationed in Canada as a staff surgeon from 1827 to 1841; and in 1852 he returned to Canada as inspector-general of hospitals. He retired on half-pay in 1856, and settled in Belleville, Upper Canada, where he died on June 27, 1860. While in Canada he published, under the nom-de-plume of "A Staff Surgeon", Trifles from my portfolio (2 Vols., Quebec, 1839; 2nd edition under the title, Henry's Military life, London, 1843); and he contributed to the New York Albion a number of papers under the pseudonyms, "Miles", "Scrutator" and "Piscator". To the Transactions, of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec he contributed also a paper, Observations on the habits of the salmon family (Quebec, 1837).

Taken from The Encyclopedia of Canada

Jeffers, James Frith (1842 - 1917)

Author, was born at Belleville, Upper Canada, on 6 April, 1842, the son of Rev. Wellington Jeffers and Jane Frith. He was educated at the University of Toronto (B.A., 1875; M.A. 1877) and became a school teacher. He was president of the Belleville Business College, and later auditor of the Midland Railway Company. His death occurred at Toronto on 24 February, 1917. He was the author of A History of Canada (Toronto, 1876), and Book-Keeping (Toronto, 1905); and he collaborated with J. L. Nicholls in Canadian and American Citizenship (Toronto, 1896).

Taken from The Encyclopedia of Canada

Joussaye, Marie

MARIE JOUSSAYE AND THE YUKON TERRITORY

Mary Josey [Marie Joussaye] was born in 1864 in Belleville, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada. She was the daughter of Michael Josey and Hannah [Phillips] Josey and was the seventh of eight children born to the Joseys. Mary left home to go to work for a Toronto newspaper, changing her name to Marie Joussaye. She wanted to pursue a career in writing. Marie was soon identified as an important leader in the formation of the Working Girl's Union and became that Union's president in 1893. In 1893, one of her poems, "Only a Working Girl" was published in the Journal of United Labour and it soon became somewhat of a themesong for the Union. In 1895 this same poem was published in her first book "The Songs That Quinte Sang". The book announced that her "allegiance to the Knights of Labour and her defence of working women against the sneers of their social superiors." Marie was also a fervent Imperialist and an admirer of anything British. Marie eventually went to Dawson City in the Yukon Territory where she met a young man who was a three-year member of the North West Mounted Police and a veteran of the Boer War. He had the very improbable name of David Heatherington Fotheringham. David was forced to resign his position in the North West Mounted Police so that they could get married on November 16, 1903. Marie was 39 and David was 29. Soon, because the newlyweds suffered from "tight money", Marie had the first of many less-than-legal financial dealings, beginning with claiming to secure 35 mining claims on Clear Creek that could be quickly resold to a London syndicate at a considerable profit. All she had to do was to raise $1050 to survey the property to complete the sale. Just after the wedding, Marie was given two diamonds by a friend, Rose Kirkpatrick. It was agreed Marie would sell them and the funds were to be paid to George White-Fraser, the Dominion Land Surveyor. George was never paid so the surveys were never conducted. Only Rose saw any kind of a return - $75 for her $600 diamonds - though they had apparently been sold for $450. Both Marie and David testified that the entire incident was a misunderstanding, but the jury of six men didn't believe her and after deliberating only 20 minutes, they returned a guilty verdict and she was sentenced to two months at hard labor. As it turned out, Marie had never staked any claims on Clear Creek at all........Marie Joussaye Fotheringham was a thief. Marie and David both ended up in jail for a month in 1912 for failing to pay their debts. They had argued that they were unfairly assessed for taxes as they had planned to refurbish a Dawson hotel. In 1918 Marie published another book of poetry, "Selections From Anglo-Saxon Songs". In 1924, they moved to Mayo where David built a steamer called the Klondyke and Marie published a semi-weekly newsletter that was as outspoken and as unpopular as she was. Money was again tight for them and it affected David's new business as a five-day trip would sometimes take two weeks to complete since he couldn't afford to buy pre-cut wood along the route. Marie moved to Vancouver in 1929 and David remained to work in the mine at Keno Hill until his death in 1936. Marie died in Vancouver, B.C. on 24 March 1949. Marie was an eloquent and passionate speaker and she was given many opportunities to "shine" but she never quite did. She had many close friends who described her as very giving and concerned about the disadvantaged but she also had some nasty enemies too. In the end Marie Joussaye Fotheringham died of a heart attack, alone in a rooming house and in a city that never knew her.

(Submitted by Nancy Clark.)

Wilkins, Robert Charles (1782 - 1866)

Legislative Councillor of Upper Canada, was born in 1782, and settled in the bay of Quinte district, with his parents, who were loyalists, about 1792. Here he later engaged in timber and importing businesses. He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada in 1839; but he was not re-appointed to the Legislative Council of Canada after the union of 1841. He died at Belleville, Ontario, in March, 1866. (See also "A Brief biographical sketch of the Hon. Robert Charles Wilkins", Belleville, 1866)

Taken from The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. VI, p. 301

Wood, Samuel Thomas (1860 - 1917)

Journalist, was born in Wollaston Township, Hastings county, Ontario, on January 16, 1860, and he was educated in Belleville, Ontario. He joined the staff of the Toronto Globe in 1891, and became an editorial writer, A number of his nature studies, originally published as editorials, were published under the title, Rambles of a Canadian Naturalist (Toronto, 1915); and he was also the author of A primer of political economy (Toronto, 1901) and How we pay each other (Toronto, 1917). He died at Toronto on November 6, 1917. See Sir J. Willison and others, A Tribute to S. T. Wood (Toronto, 1917, privately printed).

Taken from The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. VI, p. 319

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